War Hero In My Family

War Hero In My Family takes 12 celebrities on personal journeys to trace their family’s involvement in World War II. In each hour-long episode, two celebrities will explore some of the key moments of the Second World War through the acts of heroism and individual self-sacrifice made by one of their relatives.

Using never before seen documents, each celebrity will trace their ancestor’s movements during the war starting their journey with their relative’s War Service Record. This will be the first time they will have seen these records as they are closed documents still held by the MOD. Each celebrity will visit the significant locations of their relative’s war service and on route they will meet experts and historians who will highlight the significance of their family member’s actions and put their war experiences in the context of the conflict.

Whenever possible each personality will meet veterans who may have served alongside their relative and hear first-hand accounts of the realities of war. If relevant, the celebrity gets the chance to roll up their sleeves and experience hands-on the work their family member did in the fight to win the war – from patching up a Spitfire to driving a Sherman tank.

The celebrities will be matched to ensure the series has a coherent blend of entertaining talent and wide-ranging coverage of the Second World War and the series aims to include servicemen and women from all three armed forces, operating in all the theatres of the Second World War, as well as the Home Front.

Michael Wadding, series producer says: “Everyone knows somebody who played a role in World War II – be it a parent, grandparent or other close relative. We all have forgotten stories of the heroes in our family.”

The list of celebrities in the War Hero in My Family series includes:

• Lisa Faulkner
• Chris Tarrant
• Angela Rippon
• Quentin Willson
• Ann Widdecombe
• Paddy Ashdown
• Sara Cox
• David Gower
• Helen Lederer
• Robert Llewellyn
• Pamela Stephenson
• Dom Littlewood